Dress code for women? How about tougher laws?

Who gave anyone the right to snatch your freedom away woman? Two men recently tried to, one being Andhra Pradesh’s director general of police Dinesh Reddy and the other being Karnataka’s child and welfare minister CC Patil who were of the firm opinion that women who dressed in ‘flimsy and fashionable’ attire were primarily the reason why men harassed and raped women in our part of the world. The men prescribed a ‘dress code’ for women. And there was also an added insight into the theory of ‘why men rape women’ by none other than a woman who is supposedly an ‘expert’ in women –studies. The erudite lady Dr KK Seethamma (from Bangalore University) said, “I’m against women wearing obscene clothes. With such clothes, they tempt men and that’s why they get raped. Even when one wears saris, long-sleeve blouses must be worn. I tell my students they must wear long kurtas when they wear jeans”.

Going by Dr KK Seethamma’s theory, no woman in India who has worn a long sleeved blouse should have been raped! And going by the DGP’s and Minister’s theory no woman who has been fully clothed should have been raped either. The imbecile logic of the trio naturally does not hold stead if one observes the number of women who are raped from tribal areas and villages and at times raped by the so called ‘protectors’ of our society themselves. Women covered from head to toe, women who have never looked like Sheila or Munni, women who are in their 80’s, mentally unstable women, women who are physically disabled, young children, fat women, thin women, fair women, dark women, rich women, poor women have all been raped in India. This is reality and it has nothing to do with the way they have dressed or the way they look. It does not matter where the woman has resided (urban, sub urban, Timbuktu) or to which strata of the society she belongs. Rape cuts across the entire lamina on which this society operates. Period. A woman is not secure no matter where she is, and age and attire have never been a consideration for rape either. An eighty-year old woman was raped recently in New Delhi and a teenager was arrested for raping a six-month old infant as well. This is reality.

Nobody seems to have anything to say against the men in this matter and all fingers are pointed towards the women. How about prescribing a code of conduct for the way men need to behave when they are around women? Speak to women who board crowded buses in Chennai and Delhi and they will tell you how they get ‘pinched’ by lecherous men every day of their arduous journey to work. Yes, some of these women thankfully have enough of spunk to slap back the men and report them at the nearest police station. In 1992, Tamil Nadu initiated the first all women police station under Jayalalitha’s initiative. The finest decision Jayalalitha has ever made and one that has certainly helped more women come forward without fear of harassment from sweaty, testosterone charged male cops.

Nobody wants to toughen the laws for molestation in India either. Nobody is speaking about increasing security for women and protecting her dignity. Section 376 of the Indian penal code allows for on the grounds of adequate and special reasons mentioned in the judgment, a sentence of imprisonment for a term of less than seven years. Could there even be a special reason for rape and for a reduction of the sentence? A lengthy judiciary process coupled with ‘harassment’ (mental and emotional torture) of rape victims makes the situation more deplorable. Molestation should be also made a non-bailable offense in every state so that arrests are made in the first place, but the law needs to change for molestation and abuse not to be taken lightly. Instead, the entire assemblage is prescribing a dress code for women and placing the responsibility for all evil that lurks on her shoulders squarely.

“Bangalore University telling women to wear certain clothes to prevent rape. They haven’t told men yet not to rape. Women get raped whatever they wear, burqa or bikini. Rape is not about look, rape is about criminality (sic).” Taslima Nasreen

Author

Sharmila Ravinder is a qualified Accountant with a Finance background and has spent a good part of her life studying and working in India and Australia. She observes the dynamics of this versatile world and its effect on our day-to-day lives. She writes about the changing social, political and cultural climate in India and abroad. She immensely enjoys engaging in debates that encourage multiple narratives. A passionate animal lover, an avid traveller and a movie buff, she gleefully pens her thoughts in prose and sometimes in poetry too. A cat lover and always on the prowl, she has a keen eye for ordinary and extraordinary issues. She also blogs on www.sharmilasays.wordpress.com
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Sharmila Ravinder is a qualified Accountant with a Finance background and has spent a good part of her life studying and working in India and Australia. She. . .